Smiles and Happy Twins:)

Patrick and Cassidy had a great day today! They were blissfully happy and smiled and giggled all afternoon. They even posed for some pictures!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Steve's birthday was tonight! Happy Birthday honey! We love and appreciate you and life wouldn't be nearly as wonderful without you!!!! Thanks for being such an incredible father and husband.
Payton and I made a cake in honor of Steve's birthday........well truth be told, we made half a cake. I successfully baked the two cake halves and set them on the stove to cool. Attempting to multi-task, I turned a burner on to boil some water, and ran upstairs to grab the twins out of their cribs. Coming down moments later, to my dismay, I discovered the kitchen rapidly filling with smoke and my cooling cake steaming. Arrrrgg, wrong burner on hi.

Payton loves cake decoration and did a wonderful job on our short cake. We had a fun family dinner packed between hockey practice and Steve's hockey game.

Spenard Recreation Center

We discovered something very exciting today. It is a large enclosed room with a clean carpeted floor and toys galore for toddlers to explore. There are balls and parachutes and tents and slides. Most importantly Thursday mornings from 9-11Am it is a filled with toddlers ranging in age from 1-2 1/2 and there respective chaperone's. This is mommy and toddler heaven. The kids LOVED it and we plan on making this a weekly excursion!

Blood, Screaming, and the Doctor

You may have guessed Cassidy was the culprit again. I looked down just in time to see Cassidy latched onto Patrick's lower lip, jaw tightly clenched, the glimmer of her white teeth protruding from his mouth. "STOP!" I screamed. Patrick was madly trying to escape her deathly grip, but the harder he tried to push her away, the deeper his wound became. Still tightly latched on, her eyes raised to surmise my glare. She let go. The blood began to flow. I quickly picked Patrick up, grabbed a wash cloth, and tried to survey the damage. Simultaneously comforting and prodding Patrick's lip to make sure the puncture hadn't gone completely through, I cast Cassidy a withering look and said, "Don't bite!"

Ice wasn't helping and Patrick's lip was getting bigger by the second. With his lip still gushing blood, I called the doctor, and was told to come in immediately. We somehow made it to the doctor's office where the receptionist laughed at the sight of little Cassidy smiling contentedly on her side of the stroller next to a much larger Patrick who had quite the fat lip and tears in his eyes. "I guess that will teach him not to mess with her, " she said, chuckling again. The doctor proclaimed he didn't need stitches, but proscribed antibiotics for five days. He also gave Cassidy a stern lecture and said he was adding this incident to his book. I suppose this means all twins don't bite.

The Best Bibs Ever!

Who every thought I'd be so excited about a bib? Well let me tell you, after months of changing clothes multiple times a day and spending hours diligently scouring outfits with stain remover I am excited, I am elated, I am exuberant! I found the best bibs ever!

These bibs have long sleeves! Not only does this keep pesky crumbs and pureed surprises from adding a touch of color to my children's clothing but these same sleeves prevent Cassidy from clawing at her arms.

These bibs have ties! Velcro, in my humble opinion, is over rated. Patrick easily whisks his bib off with an efficient toss of the arm. Cassidy works a bit harder, but in time her bib joins her brother's on the floor. They have the audacity to think this is funny! I'd like to see them try to undo a double knotted tie!

These bibs are waterproof! Not only does this mean their outfits stay dry but they can easily be wiped down for their next use. This saves at least a load of laundry a week in bibs alone.

Now that I've lobbied by case, I wonder if Steve is ever going to ask how much these miracle bibs cost?

Lessons from Viva

We had a play date yesterday with Viva (Genevieve). Her brother was with his family and it was Viva's opportunity to have a little "alone" time with us. She is six weeks older than the twins and has a devilishly cute commanding presence. When the four kids play I honestly don't notice a "leader" in the bunch but yesterday Patrick and Cassidy were eager to follow Viva around awaiting the next exciting activity.

First they started with the wipes. The twins haven't figured out how to open the lid to the wipes as long as I properly close it. Viva has. I was quite shocked when she came to me with the empty container (which five minutes ago had been completely full!). Next they moved over to my kitchen drawers. I have two that don't have locks. I figured the kids should have a couple of cabinets and a few drawers to terrorize, I mean explore (now I wonder what I was thinking!) Viva showed the twins how once the drawers are pulled out they can be used to climb on. All three enjoyed this activity until in short order I put a stop to it.

It was almost time to pick Payton up from XC running and I decided to load the kids up early. Three was a number I hadn't experienced before! Usually I take the twins out together but there was no way I could take three out at the same time. Cassidy was the first one out. She is the biter and I didn't want any missing body parts. Coincidentally her car seat was in the middle. I came back to discover Viva and Patrick happily munching on my fall centerpiece. Next out was Viva, I felt slightly more comfortable with Patrick alone in the house for a minute or two. Finally all three were loaded and we were off! We managed to get Pate without incident and Viva was safely returned to her mother:)

Round 1 goes to Cassidy

The twins have been interacting a lot more lately. Most of the time this is adorable but, with the cute expressions and gestures of affection come a few disagreements. Toys are not in short supply around our house however, the exact toy that the other twin has is. On the bright side my children are learning a lesson in basic economics at a very young age; supply and demand. This is where the problems begin..........

Having thought I had successfully nipped the biting in the butt, I was quite disappointed to once again hear poor Patrick break out in shrieking sobs. Having not witnessed the incident I picked him up to console and inspect him. His ear was bright red with white teeth marks imprinted on his upper lobe. Under his ear there was blood!!!!!! Cassidy almost bit his ear off!!!!!!

Bath Time

Patrick and Cassidy love baths. They play and play and play. The only problem I face is how to successfully get two babies out of the bath at the same time. One always seems to get away without a diaper! Tonight they had an especially good time and Kara was kind enough to charge my camera battery (for the back-up camera) so we have the ability to once again document every moment of their lives!

Weekend with Daddy

Or should be we say a weekend with Grandma and Daddy? I left the babies overnight for the first time. Steve was amazing and encouraged me to go on the quilting retreat out at the boyscout camp for three nights.....yes THREE!! Everyone had fun, I made a quilt, the babies bonded with their father and got to spend quality time with grandma. Thank you Steve and Mom for the weekend away!

Out of Commission

You may have noticed that pictures have been rather elusive lately. This is due to the fact that the camera somehow broke over Labor Day weekend. One of these days the situation will be rectified. This is the longest the babies have ever gone without being photographed!!!!

Peaceful Weekend at Home

We stayed home this weekend. It was heavenly. Camping is fun, but I must admit, after an entire summer of camping, staying home is sheer bliss. We worked on the bathroom wall color change, I started another sewing project, we spent quality time at home as a family, walked around Lowe's, got the fall decorations out, and Steve can almost fit his truck in the garage! Today is Monday and there isn't a mountain of laundry to do or an entry way full of camping paraphernalia to disperse. I love it!!!!!

Yes!

We came home from the fair exhausted Monday afternoon. I put a Baby Einstein movie on to entertain the babies while we unloaded the camper. Cassidy decided the DVD player looked like fun to play with and proceeded to press stop multiple times. Getting crankier by the minute I attempted to stop my child.

"NO," I said quite forcefully. "Don't touch the DVD player!" I pressed play once more.

"Yes!" Cassidy said vigorously shaking her head up and down in a yes motion. She sweetly smiled up at me and once again pressed stop.

I tried not to laugh and somehow managed to sternly admonish my child. The DVD played and life went on.

My one year old is already talking back!!!! The biting seems to have stopped, but talking back???? Goodness gracious Steve and I are going to have our hands full with this one!

State Fair Fun

We camped at the State fair for Labor Day weekend! It was our last camping trip of the year and a great place to end the summer season. Patrick really took off walking. Prior to this weekend he would walk from place to place in the house, now he is running around outside! He unsteadily toddled around the camp site and quickly built his confidence as the weekend unfolded. It is getting harder and harder to keep track of him! The boys went on numerous rides, took part in a good amount of fair food, and saw many shows and races.